Samsung Note 10.1 Tablet, Like The iPad Went To Art School [MWC 2012]

Even a pressure-sensitive stylus didn't help me draw the Cult of Mac logo

BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2012 — Samsung’s showing at this year’s Mobile World Congress is light compared to the scattering of new products companies like ZTE have vomited onto the market today, but it is curiously strong, despite being hampered by the still-sluggish Android OS. First up is the Note 10.1, a proper iPad-sized version of the ridiculous five-inch Note. It’s not much different from the Tab 10.1, but for the skinny Wacom-based stylus.

Pick up the Note and you’ll think you picked up a Tab. Its 1.4GHz Exynos processor doesn’t seem to make things any less sluggish, the 3 MP and 2 MP cameras are adequate, and the 1280×800 screen is still to tall when used vertically.

But the stylus makes all the difference.

There’s no secret that Samsung sees this as a creative tool. Its booth is plastered with printed drawings and paintings, and there are red-bereted artists drawing portraits of attendees. The stylus is pressure sensitive, a huge win over dumb styluses for the iPad. There’s also an eraser on the other end which doubles as a button for fast corrections.

Adobe Ideas comes with the tablet, and while it is just as fast and easy to use as its iOS cousin, it jitters as you draw, with a lag not found on the iPad. Like I said, even a fast processor can’t seem to save Android (it’s running 4.0 if you’re asking).

But despite this, the stylus is a true unique selling point for the Note range. Until the third-party pressure-sensitive iPad styluses appear, that is.